RACK's pink logo. A lino-cut image of pitcher with a pansy on the side and flames coming out of the top.
Nighttime scene showing a sky illuminated with colorful auroras, predominantly red and green, above houses, trees without leaves, a streetlamp, and a tower in the background.

What is R.A.C.K?

Railroad Ave Community Kiln (R.A.C.K.) is a membership-based, community ceramics and art space in Viroqua. We are queer and trans-owned, and our mission is to build radical, inclusive community through art, nature, and collaborative learning.

The pottery studio offers wheel access, kiln firings, glazes, and regular classes with local potters. Beyond ceramics, R.A.C.K. will be a space with workshops and equipment for zine making, dancing, and writing. We steward The Pansy Garden outside, a space for loitering and for all-ages, alcohol-free events.

A collection of glazed ceramic bowls and cups with blue, black, and brown patterns, arranged on a gravel surface outdoors.
Hawthorn and our friend Luica prune the apple tree in the Pansy Garden

founder bios

  • (it/its, they if you’re lazy)

    Born in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Hawthorn is a freaky little critter who has always enjoyed playing in the mud, making art, and talking to plants. It moved to Wisconsin in 2008, dropped out of art school to learn about greenhouse growing, then came to the Driftless to find some new hollers to haunt. It’s been herding cats and queers in Vernon County since 2022, and dreaming of making a community-centered pottery space ever since.


    Hawthorn is of Scots-Irish, English, and German descent. It is a member of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, and is the founder of Trans on the Land, a local organization for queer and trans folks of many stripes. You’ve probably seen it at the co-op buying too much cheese.

  • Murray Valentine (xe/xem/xyrs) is a diviner, artist, and zinemaker living in the Driftless since 2022.

    Xe facilitates playful creative writing workshops and is the head scientist at the Zine Lab.

    Murray believes in the healing arts of clay, flowers, and nonsense.

  • Rufus (they/ them) is a queer trans multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes creating social spaces, community organizing, site-specific performance, interdisciplinary collaborations, and visual imagery.

    They are a founding member of WEdances Movement Collaborative, founder-owner of Lathyrus Flora floriculture project, co-curator of the Vernon County Queer Histories Project, longtime volunteer DJ (aka Titmouse) at WDRT Community Radio, and now serve as Garden Daddy for the Pansy Garden at R.A.C.K. Their favorite smell in the world is the sweet pea flower.tion text goes here

  • Elena (they/them or she/her) is a temporarily retired farmer and a prolific tinned fish eater. They began farming due to a love of soils and continued farming due to great potlucks.

    Propelled by potlucks, Elena learned to make pottery to create vessels for friends to eat and drink from. Because, in the words of Le Guin, “if you haven’t got something to put it in-- food will escape you.”

    Elena lives, eats, writes, and grows things south of Viroqua.

  • Hazel (she/ her) is the Pansy Garden’s co-steward and deer management specialist. She is a very friendly dog.

    Her professional skills include bunny observation and fetch. In her spare time, Hazel enjoys squirrel tracking, treats, and receiving vigorous belly rubs.

RACK, LLC was founded by Viroqua-area artists and land stewards Hawthorn McCracken, Murray Valentine, Rufus Jupiter, and Elena Bird.

Dog running outdoors with a tennis ball in its mouth in a grassy, yard with trees and houses in the background.
Murray, Hawthorn and Bird outside the office just after purchasing the Railroad Ave property.